For More Information:

Jim Woodcock, Fleishman-Hillard for SCP

Worldwide
314-982-7778, jim.woodcock@fleishman.com
Vic Svec, Peabody
314-342-7768, vsvec@peabodyenergy.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FINANCING COMPLETE AND CONSTRUCTION

UNDERWAY
FOR A ST. LOUIS TREASURE RECHRISTENED WITH A
NEW NAME:
THE PEABODY OPERA HOUSE

ST. LOUIS, July 12, 2010 – The rebirth of the Opera House at Henry Kiel
Auditorium in St. Louis became a reality today with the formal
announcement of the financing and start of construction on the historic
downtown performing arts and cultural center, which will reopen in Fall
2011 as the Peabody Opera House.

The St. Louis Blues ownership group, headed by Dave Checketts and
including local partner Tom Stillman, is joining with Optimus
Development, headed by Chris McKee, to spearhead the rehabilitation
and renovation of the iconic downtown building. Paric Corporation,
headed by Joe McKee, will serve as general contractor in partnership
with KAI Design and Build. And Peabody Energy, whose global
headquarters are located only a few blocks away in downtown St.
Louis, will support the effort as naming rights partner.

The event was attended by dozens of civic and business leaders as

well as St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, who announced last week the
successful closing of financing for the $78.7 million redevelopment of
the historic building. Construction has already begun with an
anticipated reopening of the Peabody Opera House in Fall 2011.

"Today is a momentous day for the City of St. Louis,” said Checketts,
chairman of the St. Louis Blues and CEO/Chairman of SCP Worldwide.
“We now have everything in place to restore this St. Louis treasure,
including the support of Peabody Energy. Peabody understands the
historical relevance of this facility and the role its renovation and
reopening will play for St. Louisans and visitors to downtown for
generations to come.

“I would like to thank Mayor Slay, Comptroller Darlene Green, Board of

Aldermen President Lewis Reed and Alderwoman Phyllis Young, our
partners Mike McCarthy, Ken Munoz and Tom Stillman, as well as the
McKee Family. They have all shared in our vision and, without their
commitment and tremendous hard work, we would not be at this place
today."

“For more than half a century, Peabody has called downtown St. Louis
home as we power people’s lives all over the world,” said Peabody
Energy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Greg Boyce. “We are
now proud to help turn this opera house into a home for creative
energy, brightening people’s lives and further enhancing the city’s
magnificent cultural landscape. The Peabody Opera House is a product
of the vision and hard work of Mayor Slay, Dave Checketts, the
McKees, and the many other community leaders and skilled workers
who are polishing this St. Louis gem back to its original luster.”

The Peabody Opera House will be operated by an affiliate of SCP

Worldwide and will offer citizens a variety of theater and musical
events, including events produced by Running Subway, SCP
Worldwide’s New York-based production company. The completed
venue will provide jobs and entertainment options in the City of St.
Louis, including the creation of 480 construction jobs with a total
payroll over $23 million.

"Over the past three years and under very difficult economic
conditions, our team worked tirelessly to make this project happen,”
said Chris McKee, president of Optimus. “Many people deserve credit,
especially my dad Paul, my brother Joe, Dave Checketts, and the
Mayor. These folks believed in our team and this extraordinary
building from the very beginning. The Peabody Opera House project
will not only provide hundreds of new jobs to the region but also
awaken an area that is vital to downtown."

The plan for the renovation and reopening of the Peabody Opera
House, an architectural gem opened in 1934 on Market Street in
downtown St. Louis, was approved by the Board of Aldermen in June
2009. The City’s Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority (LCRA)
issued $32.6 million in bonds to finance a portion of the development.
More than $46 million in state and federal historic tax credits, federal
New Markets Tax Credits, Brownfield tax credits, and first mortgage
debt complete the financing.

“The renovation and reopening of the Peabody Opera House is very

important to Downtown,” said Mayor Slay. “A reopened Opera House
will bring new visitors to Downtown, bring more entertainment options
to our City, and save a prominent, beautiful building from years of
abandonment and decay. This is great news for the City, for the
Gateway Mall, and for architecture, theater and music lovers
everywhere. It took a lot of work from a lot of people to get this
development moving. I’m grateful to everyone – and I’m very happy to
see the Opera House moving forward.

“Dave Checketts has a proven track record with renovating and

rehabilitating great spaces,” continued Mayor Slay. “He brought Radio
City Music Hall back to life – and, with Optimus Development and Paric
– will add another incredible entertainment venue to Downtown St.
Louis.”

The project is being made possible by numerous local financial

institutions. Lenders include Midland States Bank (Tom Flores, Steve
Walden), People's Bank (Forrest Langenfeld) and Holekamp Capital (Bill
Holekamp, Paul Tice). Stifel Nicolaus (Peter J. Czajkowski) is serving as
the bond underwriter while US Bank (Steve Kramer and Matt Masiel) is
providing tax credit equity for the project.

###

ABOUT SCP WORLDWIDE: Based in New York City, SCP Worldwide is

a growing sports, entertainment and media enterprise operated by
some of the industry’s most successful executives. The firm is built on
a model of selecting undervalued franchises, venues and real estate
opportunities and building them into robust business ventures. SCP
Worldwide owns a diverse array of properties that include the National
Hockey League’s St. Louis Blues, Scottrade Center, the famed Peabody
Opera House in St. Louis as well as the Blues' AHL affiliate Peoria
Rivermen. The company also owns and operates the 2009 MLS Cup
Champion Real Salt Lake and its home - Rio Tinto Stadium - a soccer-
specific facility with related entertainment elements in Sandy, Utah as
well as KALL700 Sports Radio in Salt Lake City.

Additionally, the company holds a significant interest in Running

Subway, the New York-based live entertainment company which
recently opened "Discovery Times Square Exposition" in New York City.
Discovery TSX is a 60,000 square foot space where touring exhibits,
which previously by-passed NYC, can now come to life. SCP also owns
the much heralded Tupelo-Honey Productions, a multi-disciplined, full-
service production company. SCP also maintains a relationship with
world-renowned soccer franchise, Real Madrid, the 30-time La Liga
champion. Additionally, they own an interest in emerging sports new
media company Mangia www.mangia.net, as well as fantasy sports
website www.rotohog.com.

SCP Worldwide (www.scpworldwide.net) consists of proven sports,

media, entertainment and finance executives including David W.
Checketts, its chairman and founding member and his partners,
Michael McCarthy, Kenneth Munoz, Steve Potter and Carl Vogel.

ABOUT PEABODY ENERGY: Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU) is the

world’s largest private-sector coal company and a global leader in
clean coal solutions. With 2009 sales of 244 million tons and $6 billion
in revenues, Peabody fuels 10 percent of U.S. power and 2 percent of
worldwide electricity. Peabody: Energizing the world… one Btu at a
time.